Physical Activity & Sleep: How Sleep Affects the Body | Sleep Foundation (2023)

FAQs

How does physical activity affect your sleep? ›

Research Shows Exercise Decreases Insomnia

Recent research indicates that exercise decreases sleep complaints and insomnia in patients. The effects of aerobic exercise on sleep appear to be similar to those of sleeping pills.

Regular exercise has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety as well as improve sleep. There's no evidence that any one kind of exercise choice has a greater impact on Depression than others. It appears that any form of exercise can help Depression.

Research suggests that sleep plays an important role in learning, memory, mood, and judgment. Sleep affects how well you perform when you are awake—both your daily work and athletic performance. The amount of time you sleep as well as the quality of your sleep are both important.

Sleep is an essential and involuntary process, without which we cannot function effectively. It is as essential to our bodies as eating, drinking and breathing, and is vital for maintaining good mental and physical health. Sleeping helps to repair and restore our brains, not just our bodies.

STUDIES SHOW THAT SLEEP HELPS YOUR BODY REGENERATE

Sleep maintains your mental and physical health, helps your body recover, and strengthens your immune system. If we were to judge based on this aspect alone, we would have to say that sleep is more important than exercise.

Being physically active can improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday activities. Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity gain some health benefits.

Exercise increases your overall health and your sense of well-being, which puts more pep in your step every day. But exercise also has some direct stress-busting benefits. It pumps up your endorphins. Physical activity may help bump up the production of your brain's feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins.

Sleep decreases cortisol levels

A lack of sleep can cause the body to react as if it's in distress, releasing more of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol is responsible for your fight or flight reaction to danger, increasing your heart rate in anticipation of a fight.

Some of the most serious potential problems associated with chronic sleep deprivation are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Other potential problems include obesity, depression, reduced immune system function and lower sex drive.

Why is sleep important mental health? ›

If you're having problems sleeping, you might: be more likely to feel anxious, depressed or suicidal. be more likely to have psychotic episodes – poor sleep can trigger mania, psychosis or paranoia, or make existing symptoms worse.

Sleep helps your body and brain function properly. A good night's sleep can help improve your learning, memory, decision making, and even creativity ( 1 , 2, 3, 4 , 5). What's more, getting insufficient sleep has been linked to a higher risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity (6).

Restorative sleep is critical to the maintenance, repair, and overall health of our bodies. Our brains need rest too. With the right amount of sleep, the brain will be able to focus better and have more memory retention.

Research suggests the ideal time to go to sleep is 10 p.m. But you should focus more on having a consistent schedule and routine when it comes to hitting the hay.

National Sleep Foundation guidelines¹ advise that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Babies, young children, and teens need even more sleep to enable their growth and development. People over 65 should also get 7 to 8 hours per night.

Sleep is a vital, often neglected, component of every person's overall health and well-being. Sleep is important because it enables the body to repair and be fit and ready for another day. Getting adequate rest may also help prevent excess weight gain, heart disease, and increased illness duration.

But sleep quality may actually be the most important factor predicting good mental health, more so than hours slept, physical activity, and diet, according to a new study of young adults from researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

Sleep increases your mental function and memory.

Sleeping improves your ability to think clearly, make sound decisions, and learn things more quickly. According to the National Sleep Foundation, consistently sleeping seven to nine hours per night also increases mental agility and memory.

How physical activity affect a person's character and behavior? ›

Adults who get more physical activity are more likely to show positive personality traits, such as openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (wanting to do things well). The more active people are, the more these traits develop positively, into and through adulthood.

Some examples of physical activity are:

Going for a walk, bike, or run (join our indoor walking program). Doing household chores. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Playing at the park.

Overtraining often leads to insomnia, which can be debilitating for athletes in particular. “Sleep is when you produce the hormones that facilitate muscle building and recovery,” says Lyons.

They found that not only did evening exercise not affect sleep, it seemed to help people fall asleep faster and spend more time in deep sleep. However, those who did high-intensity exercise — such as interval training — less than one hour before bedtime took longer to fall asleep and had poorer sleep quality.

Sport and other forms of physical activity improve the quality of sleep. It does this by helping you fall asleep faster and deepening your sleep. Sleeping better can improve your mental outlook the next day, as well as improving your mood.

Multiple studies have found that evening exercise improves sleep quality¹⁶ by helping people fall asleep faster, reducing nighttime awakenings, and increasing the time spent in slow-wave sleep.

Research suggests the ideal time to go to sleep is 10 p.m. But you should focus more on having a consistent schedule and routine when it comes to hitting the hay.

External factors, such as what we eat and drink, the medications we take, and the environment in which we sleep can also greatly affect the quantity and quality of our sleep. In general, all of these factors tend to increase the number of awakenings and limit the depth of sleep.

Between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., your body temperature is at its highest. This may mean you'll be exercising during the window of time your body is most ready, potentially making it the most effective time of day to work out.

Should I exercise or sleep? ›

Making the Choice: Sleep or Exercise

If you're really sleep-deprived, meaning you've slept too few hours or slept poorly for consecutive nights, you should choose more sleep. Otherwise, exercise is the best choice. “Thirty minutes of exercise is more impactful health-wise than 30 minutes of extra sleep,” Kline says.

Taking a nap after exercise can support muscle recovery. When you sleep, your pituitary gland releases growth hormone. Your muscles need this hormone to repair and build tissue. This is essential for muscle growth, athletic performance, and reaping the benefits of physical activity.

It's important to drink enough water during the day, however, it can be disruptive if you drink directly before bed. Avoid drinking water or any other fluids at least two hours before sleeping to prevent waking up at night.

Sleep deprivation leaves your brain exhausted, so it can't perform its duties as well. You may also find it more difficult to concentrate or learn new things. The signals your body sends may also be delayed, decreasing your coordination and increasing your risk for accidents.

National Sleep Foundation guidelines¹ advise that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Babies, young children, and teens need even more sleep to enable their growth and development. People over 65 should also get 7 to 8 hours per night.

Your physical performance might improve: Research shows that most people function better, physically speaking, later in the day. Muscle strength, flexibility, power output and endurance are all better in the evening than they are in the morning.